The invention relates to an electromagnetic relay having
a base made of insulating material, whose floor side defines a basic plane and in which are anchored bearers for fixed contacts, as well as contact terminal pins, PA1 an armature arranged pivotably over the base, PA1 a coil arranged above the armature, with an axis parallel to the basic plane, PA1 a core arranged axially in the coil, with yokes directed downward at both ends, perpendicular to the basic plane, which form working air gaps with the armature, and PA1 a contact spring arrangement connected with the armature, which works together with the fixed contacts of the base, corresponding to the armature movement.
A relay of the type named above is specified in WO 94/22156. corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,066 incorporated herein by reference. There a coil body is set immediately on the base, which body, in addition to the coil winding and the core, also bears the yokes and a permanent magnet, and which is connected directly with the base in side areas. A cap covering the coil body is connected with the base for the formation of a closed housing. This known construction is designed for conventional solder connection technology; however, the connection structure of base and coil body is not designed for stronger mechanical or thermal loads. However, since surface mounting technique (SMT) and connection technology with press-fit pins are also increasingly desired for the equipping of circuit boards in addition to conventional contacting via solder terminal pins, relays should be constructed so as to be able to withstand, as much as possible, the mechanical or, respectively, thermal loads that occur with these technologies, without worsening of the precisely set characteristics of the relay. In addition, from WO 94/13002 a relay of similar construction is known in which a coil block and a terminal arrangement are together extrusion-coated with insulating material, creating a one-piece basic body unit. An armature with movable contact springs is set on this basic body unit, and the relay thus formed is closed with a covering cap. Since, however, in this case the basic body unit forms the lower part of the housing with respect to the terminal plane, and the armature is located in the upper region, the contact terminals must be guided downward laterally next to the coil. The terminals thereby not only become very long, but also require additional space, which, together with the required intermediate insulating walls, increases the width of the relay. Moreover, the solder terminal lugs located there cannot be replaced with other terminals, e.g. press-fit posts, without a modification of the construction.